His Majesty announces Patronage of the D Foundation

September 16, 2016 - His Majesty is pleased to announce his patronage of the D Foundation, a British charity whose mission is to help disadvantaged youth, often of African descent, get experience and break into artistic fields. Rwandan culture, music, and fashion will be highlighted in upcoming months, and a concert series is in development.

The D Foundation is a registered charity in England & Wales, with a mission to support youth and young adults secure the skills, experience, and connections that it takes to successfully enter the creative media and fashion industries.

Founded in 2006 by Davide Wheller, the founder and former CEO of the internationally acclaimed fashion magazine Disorder, and Prof Ruby Bukhari, Visiting Professor at Sheffield University and formally the Editor of Disorder, The D Foundation has gained rapid industry respect over the last couple of years.

Having worked in the fashion and creative industries for over 20-years has made Davide extremely experienced, knowledgeable and connected with industry movers and shakers. He has a deep knowledge of what it takes to truly succeed in the industry and understands that the British young talent are not being always given the opportunities their talents deserve.

He has made it his life time ambition to ensure our youth and young adults get the support they need to succeed - independent of obstacles.Ruby makes the perfect creative partner for Davide. She brings the energy, focus and drive to make a difference a significant different in young people's lives, both today and for the generations to come. She is a young, driven and dedicated Muslim lady, who has already been recognised as a significant individual within the fashion and creative industries by the likes of Sheffield University, whom have appointed her a Visiting Professor, and the London College of Fashion, whom have invited Davide and herself to give guest lectures and workshops to their post graduate causes.

The D Foundation is based in London, for the access to the creative and fashion industries which is paramount to its ability to deliver its charitable mission, though is primarily focused on assisting the youth and young adults eager to gain traction within the industries from all regions of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It actives this by engaging with key stakeholders in each region - namely creative colleges & universities, local authorities, employment support providers and youth engagement charities.

Together, The D Foundation has the potential to significantly engage with, and drive, the fashion and creative industries within the United Kingdom and beyond.

The mission is to cause a positive difference in the lives and career prospects of youth and young adults eager to enter the fashion and creative industries via the followings objectives:

Identifying local champions to act as a catalyst to form creative hubs around our centres of excellence.

Ensuring the local creative talent are taken seriously within the industry via regular publication in the in-house magazine ASBO and involvement in regional, national and international projects.

Partnering with local authorities, skills training institutions and job creation programmes to fully fund our centres of excellence, to provide targeted skills mentoring and job attraction services to youth and young adults at the local and regional level.

Supporting, through every available means, our youth and young adults to gain careers within the fashion and creative industries.

Promoting the extremely high skill level of British youth and their eagerness to succeed

Support their entry into being the next generation of creative business owners.

In the first few years of existence, The D Foundation has generated significant traction, proven its operating model, and successfully secured public funding which has had a marked, and measured, positive effect on not only the youth and young adults, but also the fashion and creative industries on a global scale. Some of its many highlights are:

From 2012 to 2015 The D Foundation carried out a project funded by Job Centre Plus in South London to mentor unemployed youth with an interest in the fashion and creative arts.

The outcomes were significant:

57% went into work within the Creative industries

26% went on to Further Education

9% started up their own business

8% decided the industry wasn't for

them and went on to get a job in other industries.

Client A

Sent to visit the police because they were afraid he was going to get into a gang as he faced some challenging circumstances. He worked with the D Foundation for several months, built up his portfolio and styled the flur East cover, she head hunted him to be her personal stylist. He was then picked up by the X factor after which he went on to style the golden globes and has now been asked to co-ordinate Gap menswear collections

Client B

Came from JCP, worked on the TV and presenting side. She was picked up by a model agency and is currently on billboards across the country as the face of Vodafone. She’s now in talks with Channel 4 to become one of their new presenters

Client C

Couldn’t afford to finish his degree so came into the Foundation- magazine to do graphic design - after 6 months, he was picked up by Bowyers publishing and is now creative director of Grazier Magazine

Client D

Originally part of the fashion team. Started to make hats for the fashion shoots; now makes hat for royalty and most celebrities in addition to hats being worn on the front cover of Vogue magazine

Client E

Came to the Foundation to build up a portfolio of photography work, now working for several major publications and record companies all around the world

Client F

Worked as part of the fashion team. Got head hunted by Vivienne Westwood and now runs a successful business designing hand bags